There's a fascinating study summarized on boingboing that shows that nearly half the people who are collecting social security say they have "not used a government program." And 43 percent of people on unemployment insurance say the same thing.
You can laugh at it -- but it's actually a frightening (if unsurprising) study. Because it shows just how far the right-wing anti-government dogma has infiltrated this country.
Thanks to decades of careful, well-orchestrated attacks, more Americans than ever believe that "Government" -- not just this government, but Government in general -- is a bad thing. And they've forgotten what the public sector actually means to them.
This, by the way, is the main reason the far right would like to get rid of social security. Getting a government check every month might remind people that the government is actually helping them.